SCULPT!

1.So we divide the presentation and research into rough blocks: history of the Yoruba people, myth and significance of the Egungan mask ritual, comparisons of Yoruba culture then to the present day, and a final analysis and discussion of Egungans ritual as "performance art", the relevance of that term, and how our lens shapes our understanding of the Yoruba people.

2. The main idea we are attempting to communicate in our presentation is the significance and intimate connection of Egungan mask ritual to the daily life and spirituality of the Yoruba people. We will highlight how this art form holds a unique position among the Yoruba as a way to revere the ancestors through a rich performance of color, dance, and mask work. We will keep the audience from getting lost by attempting to create a narrative that is simple. We will start with an overview of the area of the world we are studying and the people who live there. Following that we will narrow our scope to Egungan ritual and how it operates (tying it in along the way with the yoruba lifestyle discussed initially). We will again follow this with the growth and the development of the Egungan mask ritual and look at what elements have remained constant, and which have changed (and why.). We then conclude with some good ol' historiography work (Why is/isn't this art? What lenses are at work here?). Additional things to keep people engaged: dynamic speaking, clear simple connections, and truly remarkable videos of Egungan mask ritual.

3. We believe the format we have original chosen will work fine. It provides a clear direct way of communicating our points. However, the challenges to keep the presentation from being stale and make it dynamic remain. We will have to work hard to overcome these traditional problems.

1 Comment

1. I think that these general areas work pretty well. I'm still looking for a bit more specificity in what you'll be talking about, but I think this is a useful grouping of topics. I especially like the complicated area of thinking through Yoruba ritual as "Performance Art," and I look forward to you thinking through the historiographic questions that arise in this particular area.

2. All very good! My only worry is that you might be reaching for too much breadth. Be sure that you have written out and rehearsed what you want to say so that you can be sure you're able to encapsulate each point concisely.

3. Good! Don't underestimate how intriguing the Egungun ritual might be since it is so different from everything we've encountered before. If you are planning to show a clip at all, be sure to frame it in a way that you are having the audience actively look for certain elements - this will help keep them on your toes.